Marketing 101 Reimagined

The Cluetrain Manifesto

Maybe I'm just a sucker for anything that calls itself a 'manifesto,' but I can see myself having some really interesting conversations with some of my friends on this. I haven't read it all, but from the introduction:

What if the real attraction of the Internet is not its cutting-edge bells and whistles, its jazzy interface or any of the advanced technology that underlies its pipes and wires? What if, instead, the attraction is an atavistic throwback to the prehistoric human fascination with telling tales? Five thousand years ago, the marketplace was the hub of civilization, a place to which traders returned from remote lands with exotic spices, silks, monkeys, parrots, jewels -- and fabulous stories.

In many ways, the Internet more resembles an ancient bazaar than it fits the business models companies try to impose upon it. Millions have flocked to the Net in an incredibly short time, not because it was user-friendly -- it wasn’t -- but because it seemed to offer some intangible quality long missing in action from modern life. In sharp contrast to the alienation wrought by homogenized broadcast media, sterilized mass "culture," and the enforced anonymity of bureaucratic organizations, the Internet connected people to each other and provided a space in which the human voice would be rapidly rediscovered.

Though corporations insist on seeing it as one, the new marketplace is not necessarily a market at all. To its inhabitants, it is primarily a place in which all participants are audience to each other. The entertainment is not packaged; it is intrinsic. Unlike the lockstep conformity imposed by television, advertising, and corporate propaganda, the Net has given new legitimacy -- and free rein -- to play. Many of those drawn into this world find themselves exploring a freedom never before imagined: to indulge their curiosity, to debate, to disagree, to laugh at themselves, to compare visions, to learn, to create new art, new knowledge.

Yeah, you guessed it, they had me at "stories."

Istanbul Grand Bazaar

Update, 10 minutes later: And now, from someone who has obviously not read Cluetrain, and excerpt from a speech I had to read for class, by Bill Marks, VP-PR, Coca-Cola:

Good evening! Thank you Rita for your warm introduction. LA! To those of us from the east, this is ..."the left coast!" The film capital of the world. The place where truth is frequently stranger than fiction!... I guess most of us folks from back East believe LA is not the "Real" world. By the way, those in the pool to bet how long it would take the Coke guy to insert the word "real" in his speech? You can now divvy up the money....As I hope most of you know, my company recently announced a new marketing platform for brand Coca-Cola. Our new marketing platform reflects genuine, authentic moments in life and the natural role brand Coca-Cola plays in those moments. The platform, "Coca-Cola? Real" will be integrated across all of the brand's marketing initiatives and properties.The integrated platform launch includes a new ad campaign, strong music and digital components, promotions, properties, one-to-one marketing initiatives, and new packaging and graphics.

You get the idea. If you have to keep plugging the words 'real', 'genuine' and 'authentic,' then there's a pretty good chance you're not. But what do I know? He heads up one of the most powerful brands in the world.